


protector

by evenlypaced



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Bullying, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, kid!rhink, slight AU, tiny spat of violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-31
Updated: 2019-05-31
Packaged: 2020-03-30 20:38:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19035187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/evenlypaced/pseuds/evenlypaced
Summary: Just having moved onto the block, Rhett gets more than he bargained for trying to forge new friendships with the other kids on the street.





	protector

**Author's Note:**

> quick, sweet lil thing i wrote in an allergy med induced haze and immediately forgot about. enjoy :)

Rhett hadn’t been thrilled to move again for the third time in his short ten years of life, but once his father had finally promised that this was “for good, I mean it” this time, he let himself get used to the idea of getting comfortable.

 

He’d seen scatterings of neighborhood kids taking to the streets with the freedom they had under the summer sun. Without schedules to abide by, their parents sent them out to make their own fun until sundown called them back under their parents’ thumbs once again.

 

Rhett chose to just observe first, watching closely from the sill of his family’s large sunroom window. He spent a meticulous amount of time picking out which kids would be safe to forge friendships with, deprived of the luxury of the school day to make friends through circumstance alone.

 

In his first week of watching,  he notices there aren’t too many boys quite his age, most already getting ready for the woes of middle school with the exception of one.

 

The Neals had come over a few days after they’d settled, Sue yielding tuna casserole and a shy young son named Link. The deep blue of his eyes struck Rhett, instantly sparking a grin that was hesitantly returned as the other boy retreated behind his mother, the adults inattentive to the silent interacting as they spoke on and on for what felt like ages.

 

Sue had invited them to the annual block barbecue the weekend coming up, insisting they get acquainted with the tight knit community of the cul de sac.

 

Rhett had tried to ask Link to play, but he just grasped his mom’s hand tighter and asked to go back home, complaining of a stomach ache that suddenly ailed him. She gave her goodbyes, promising to send Link back over another time. Rhett nodded, his imagined best chance at friendship quickly scurrying back to his own front door.

 

The next time he saw him was the morning of the barbecue, heading down toward the main stretch of road that ran through the quaint town. He appeared to have come from the steps of a house where the older boys he’d seen before were gathered, snickering to themselves over something Rhett couldn’t quite figure out. 

 

_ Tommy spoke up first, releasing the balloon he’d been messing around with to sputter off into the yard as Link approached the group of boys, desperate yet again to fit in with them. _

 

_ “Hey Link, what’cha up to?” Link smile ferociously, shocked at the inviting tone of the notorious bully. He’d been picking on Link since he knew how, the other boys joining him in fear of being next. Younger, smaller, and bubbly as ever, Link was their perfect target. _

 

_ Despite the strained relationship between him and the other kids on the street, he craved the validation of belonging to their front porch cohort. More than anything, he craved a friendship.  _

_ That had been squandered as of late, not even able to approach the boys without fear of the physical and verbal abuse he’d become accustomed to with  _ _ them. _

_ Link held onto the faith that they’d come around once he grew a little, silently measuring himself up as he came down the steps to their level at Tommy’s request. _

 

_ “Nothing, can I help you guys with those?” Link sat down, wiping his brow of the sweat that had collected, ignoring the swelter of the North Carolina sun as he dove into the sudden inclusion he was facing. _

 

_ “Actually,” Tommy said, staring over at the other two boys in hopes they’d catch on, “we have a more important job for you, if you can handle it.” _

 

_ Link shot up instantly, “I can! I can! What is it!?” _

 

_ “Well,” Tommy snickered, looking down for but a second to collect his facade once more, “our moms were going to send us to get a bag of ice for the coolers, but maybe you can go get it and bring it back for us.” _

 

_ “Sure! I can do it!” _

 

_ Bobby reached into his pocket and handed Link a collection of coins. “Hurry back, this is really important Link, we can’t have a party without this.” _

 

_ Link scurried off, eager to accept a challenge he’d never conquer  _

 

Rhett has been quickly busied once he left the house, setting up tables and chairs for the gathering. He mechanically moved until a broken cry caught his attention, Link moving down the sidewalk slowly with a bag of water sloshing to his side.

 

Rhett walked over, head whipping around to see the boys on the stoop doubled over in fits of laughter. It didn’t take much to connect the two thereafter.

 

“Link! Wait!” Rhett rushed over, stopping his acquaintance before he could walk right into the trap clearly laid out for him. “What’s wrong?”

 

Link broke into sobs again, holding out the plastic bag to Rhett, what was left of the bags of cubes now floating in the mass of melted water. Rhett sighed and took the bag from him. 

 

“It was important, and I,”  _ choke, sob, sputter “ _ I messed it up.”

 

Rhett flared with anger, knowing well enough that Link didn’t deserve anything the older kids were handing to him. “Stay here, okay? I’ll be right back.”

 

Rhett pounded the pavement over to the stoop, ripping a hole in the bag and dumping it onto Bobby’s head in one fell swoop. Stunned, he looked up at the younger blonde towering over him, face red hot with rage. “Don’t  _ ever  _ go after him again. You hear me?”

 

“Or what?”

 

Rhett didn’t think before his fist flew out in front of him, colliding into a mess of blood and tears that quickly followed the unconscious motion. Bobby scurried off, Tommy following close behind to avoid a repeat performance. 

 

Rhett turned to see Link smiling, the flow of tears having stopped to his relief. He knew he’d be in huge trouble once his mother caught wind, but the look on Link’s face touched something in him that made it all worth it. 

 

“Wanna go play? My mom just said I could put the Nintendo in my room. I’ll let you be player one!”

 

Link giggled and nodded, the shy barrier he’d been hiding behind upon their first meeting quickly crumbling away. 

 

Link found no trouble for himself after that, Rhett seldom leaving his side as they circled the cul de sac under the summer sun, Bobby and his crew staying cautiously on their side of the street. 

 

It was rare after that to see Link without Rhett, his towering stature and innate need to protect his best friend becoming an asset Link couldn’t imagine his life without for years to come. 

  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> i’ll venmo someone $2 to start writing the titles to my fics bc i never do them justice
> 
> on tumblr @youdidinthedark


End file.
